Romo's wild scramble sparks Dallas

IRVING, Texas -- When Tony Romo began chasing a snap that flew over his head, two thoughts raced through his mind.

"Don't give up a touchdown," he said, "and don't get killed."

After making things worse by knocking the ball farther away, Romo finally grabbed it 33 yards behind the line of scrimmage. Yet instead of falling on the ball or throwing it away, Romo took off running.

And running. And running.

By following his blockers and making a guy miss on his own, Romo recovered all the yards he'd lost, plus gained 4 more -- exactly what the Dallas Cowboys needed on a third-and-3 and in the midst of a sluggish start. That sparked the Cowboys to a 35-7 victory over the St. Louis Rams on Sunday.

"That was a trick play we were working on," coach Wade Phillips said, laughing.

Romo's wild, Staubach-like scramble came just before halftime of a tied game. He capped that drive with -- what else? -- a 15-yard touchdown run. Then he opened the second half with TD passes of 59, 37 and 17 yards, turning what had been a tight game into yet another easy win for undefeated Dallas and another frustrating loss for winless St. Louis.

"When I first kicked it, I thought, 'Uh-oh, maybe I should've fallen on it,' " Romo said. "You have a sense that people are around you or you don't. And no one was around me."

Offensive coordinator Jason Garrett said his sentiment during the play was similar to a basketball coach seeing a player put up a 30-footer.

"You say, 'No, no ... Hey! Way to go!' " Garrett said.

The Cowboys are 4-0 for the first time since 1995, the year of their last Super Bowl title. The Rams are 0-4 for the first time since 2002, when they opened with five straight losses coming off a Super Bowl loss.

Dallas is literally getting better every week of Phillips' tenure. The defense has gone from giving up 4 touchdowns in the opener, to 3, to none Sunday (the Rams' only score came on special teams). The Cowboys' offense, which came in as the highest-scoring in the league, has widened the margin of victory every week.

"Four-and-oh is nice," Phillips said. "It doesn't put us in the Super Bowl, it doesn't put us in the playoffs. But it's good that we're there."